Laugavegur | GET INFORMED
Are you captured by the idea of switching off your phone, escaping the real world and the hectic rhythms of everyday’s life, to spend 4 days hiking across the mystical landscapes of Iceland’s Highlands?
I can assure you… if this is your wish, the Laugavegur Trail will not disappoint you!
This post will guide you through the most common questions that usually fill up my brain when I start dreaming about hiking a new trail… happy trail planning!
What is the Laugavegur Trail?
The Laugavegur is the most popular trail in Iceland. It is 55 km long and spans between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk, crossing the stunning landscapes of the Icelandic Highlands.
Basic huts are present along the way and camping is only allowed next to them.
Hikers usually complete this trail in 3 or 4 days. However, to prolong this trekking experience, the Laugavegur can also be easily combined with two other great hikes:
The Hellismannaleið Trail
Is usually hiked in 3 days before starting the Laugavegur (from Rjúpnavellir to Landmannalaugar)The Fimmvörðuháls Trail
Is usually hiked in 1 or 2 days after finishing the Laugavegur (from Þórsmörk to Skógar)
What kind of experience does it offer?
This trail provides the great opportunity to explore the Highlands of Iceland in a unique way, to visit and admire the interesting and diverse geological landscapes of the island, far away from the herds of tourists. It allows to briefly disconnect from the real world and to simply adjust to the rythms of nature. Forget about annoying alarms, social media, chat and email notifications… set your phone into flight-mode… you will rarely find phone reception anyway!
The Laugavegur Trail has become very popular over the years and is now a highly frequented trail during the peak summer months. It mostly gets crowded in the evening, when all hikers gather at the huts. It is therefore easy to create friendships on this trail, but also to find solitude while hiking!
I will always remember the emotions I felt while admiring the vastness of the landscapes… they were so epic and diverse… I never got bored to gaze at them and to notice the constant change of the colors along the way! I hiked this trail with my boyfriend Yannick. Since both of us were looking for some solitude and peace, we did not interact much with other hikers. We really needed this adventure… it helped us to slow down and free our minds from the worries of our everyday’s lives, to think about our future and enjoy each other’s company, and to immerse ourselves together into the epic world of a phantasy book while resting in our cozy tent!
That being said, it is important to note that a thru hike will always provide a different and unique experience to every hiker... in short, HYOH :)
Where can I find useful information?
I know… the planning phase of a long-distance hike can easily become tricky and overwhealming, especially if you don’t know which information source you should trust more. Here you can find the pages that could be used to organize your adventure on the Laugavegur.
The website: this website provides very good and up to date information about the trail.
The book: as soon as we decided to travel to Iceland, we purchased this book guide from Cicerone. It includes many more hikes than just the Laugavegur, and it was perfect for us, as we were also going to hike another trail in the Icelandic Westfjords. It helped us in the planning of the stages and the overall timeline of our holidays in Iceland. However, if you are looking for a lighter and more specific book about the Laugavegur, I would suggest to purchase this one from Knife Edge Outdoor Guidebooks.
The facebook group: this facebook group is a great place to ask questions and find particularly useful insights, directly from people who already hiked the trail or that are in the same planning phase as you.
The Trail Chat: feel free to ask me anything about the trail. I am always happy to help and support you during the planning phase of your thru hikes!
Which difficulties will I face?
The trail itself is quite easy and does not include any insane ascents/descents, nor technically difficult or exposed sections. It mostly follows clearly waymarked paths, lanes and dirt roads.
You need however to consider that the trail could become tougher in bad weather conditions and with a heavy pack on your back. Regardless of your accommodation choice (huts or tent), your gear and equipment will prove to be very important, as you will need to be self-sufficient for several days while hiking, since the huts along the trail do not serve warm meals.
Long story short… I think that anyone with some hiking experience and a moderate fitness level will be able to thru hike the Laugavegur Trail. Moreover, with enough preparation and knowledge about camping gear and food planning, I would even recommend it for first-time thru-hikers!
These are the most important points that need to be considered prior to this adventure:
HEAVY BACKPACK
You must be self-sufficient while on trail. All the huts along the Laugavegur sell some supplies like sodas and dried trekking-food but with very limited choice, and none of them serves warm ready-made meals. Therefore, we highly recommend to bring your own food along with you.
Your backpack can therefore become quite heavy if you don’t plan your equipment list well. More importantly, make sure you know how to use your equipment before heading out into the unknown! You can find a list of the equipment and food we brought with us in the posts EQUIPMENT and FOOD.
WEATHER
The weather is a potential issue that you must not underestimate on the Laugavegur. You have to keep in mind that the trail will lead you across the Icelandic Highlands, where weather is often very unpredictable. You must therefore be prepared for every type of forecast… even for a snowstorm in the middle of the summer season!
TRAIL CONDITIONS AND WAYMARKS
The trail itself is quite easy and does not include any insane ascents/descents, nor technically difficult or exposed sections. It is also well marked, mainly with huge cairns. These cairns are easy to follow, but we can imagine that it could become hard to spot them in case of fog and rain. This is why navigation skills are essential.
REMOTENESS
The trail leads hikers deep into the Icelandic Highlands, far away from civilization and where phone signal is very scarse. We strongly advice to carry a GPS device that also has a SOS button, which can be pressed for alerting authorities in emergency situations. If you are curious to see which devices we brought with us, head to our EQUIPMENT post.
RIVER CROSSINGS
There are some river crossings along the Laugavegur that can become tricky when water levels are high, particularly in June or in case of prolonged rainfall. We advise to always cross them “along” the trail path, to use trekking poles for stability and to slightly face the current while proceeding with short steps. We also recommend to wear hiking sandals or crocs while fording them, to avoid feet injuries.
I will be honest… the water will be freezing cold… don’t think about it, bite the bullet and you will quickly get to the other side :)
When is the best time to hike it?
The Laugavegur is a summer trail and can be usually hiked from late June until mid September to avoid snow, cold weather and dangerous river crossings as much as possible. You need however to keep in mind that the weather can be unpredictable anytime, even during summer season!
It is important to know that the access to the trail heads varies from year to year, depending on when the gravel F-roads will be opened by the Icelandic Road Authorities. In an average year, you can assume that the roads to access the trail will be open from the 25th of June until the 15th of September.
From my personal experience, I would recommend to plan this hike in July or August. It will be peak season and lots of hikers will be on trail, but at least you will be sure of actually being able to reach the trail and start hiking!
How do I reach the trail?
If you have read the above information about the Laugavegur and decided that you want to experience this adventure, it is time to start thinking about how to actually reach the trail.
Iceland can be easily reached by plane, landing at the Keflavík International Airport, close to Reykjavík, which is served by many airlines from several countries.
The trail heads can be reached using 4x4 jeeps and buses during summer, depending on when the gravel F-roads will be opened by the Icelandic Road Authorities. Landmannalaugar (the official start) is reached by driving on the F208 or F225 roads, while Þórsmörk (the official end) by driving on the F249. Moreover, if you choose to also hike the Fimmvörðuháls Trail (between Þórsmörk and Skógar), Skógar lies directly on the Icelandic Ringroad (Highway no. 1) and is accessible all year round for all types of vehicles.
There are several bus companies offering bus rides between Reykjavík and Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk and Skógar during summer, like Trex and Reykjavik Excursions. Some of them even offer a Hikers' Pass that can be used for a transfer from Reykjavík to the starting point of choice (Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk or Skógar) and back to Reykjavík again from the finishing point of choice (Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk or Skógar). We recommend to book your rides (or at least your first ride to the trail start) in advance, as these buses often get fully booked.
If you are planning to prolong your stay in Iceland and further explore the country after hiking the Laugavegur, for example by driving along the famous Ring Road, we advise to check the post OUR TRIP. It is about our travel schedule and itinerary and you might find some inspiration and important tips & tricks!
What should I pack?
You will find a detailed list of all the equipment and food we took along with us in the posts EQUIPMENT and FOOD.
Here I will just try to answer the most frequently asked questions during the planning phase of this thru hike.
Where can I buy fuel for my camping stove?
You’ll need fuel to cook your meals only if you are going to sleep in your tent outside the huts. All the huts on the Laugavegur indeed provide a kitchen, which can only be used by hikers who made a reservation to sleep inside the hut.
We purchased two gas canisters (230 g), one for each of us, in one of the many Icewear Shops in Reykjavík, and we can recommend to do so. The price was indeed reasonable (as opposed to the ones sold at gas stations), and we found both canister types with different screwing mechanism.
Theoretically, each hut along the Laugavegur is also selling fuel and you might also find some canisters left behind by other hikers in the “donation boxes”, but we did not dare to risk it, as we knew the stock might vary depending on the amount of hikers on the trail.
Where can I resupply for food?
This is a remote adventure and you must be prepared to be self-sufficient while on trail. All the huts along the Laugavegur sell some supplies like sodas and dried trekking-food but with very limited choice, and none of them sell warm ready-made meals. Therefore, we highly recommend to bring your own food along with you.
In Reykjavík you will find many supermarkets where you could resupply before hitting the trail, with Bónus and Nettó being the biggest ones.
For our adventure in Iceland, we decided to plan our meal schedule in advance and cook our own food recipes, and therefore brought all our dried trekking food from home. The only important rule to consider regarding the import of food into Iceland is that animal products of any kind must be boiled or canned.
We will be honest with you…
We placed our food bags in our backpacks, which were checked-in to be put in the hold of the airplane. Of course we were a bit worried that our backpacks would be opened at the customs and that our food would be removed from them. My backpack was indeed opened and checked through, but luckily no items were removed from it… phiu! :)
Once in Reykjavík, we resupplied for water and fresh food (bread, cheese, cold cuts) at this small Extra Supermarket, which was close to our accommodation.
How much water should I carry?
I personally carried 2L of water with me every day but never drank it all during the stages. Clean water is available at every hut and we made sure to fill our bottles every morning before starting our hike.
Additionally, there is also plenty of water along the trail, in streams and rivers, except during stage 1 where there is too much geothermal activity and water is boiling hot! Theoretically, the water collected from rivers does not need to be filtered.
Where can I leave my normal clothes?
Since we planned to travel along the Ring Road and further explore Iceland after our Laugavegur hike, additionally to our trail backpack, we brought a bag containing our “normal“ clothes.
Upon our arrival at Reykjavík, before leaving for hiking the Laugavegur, we left our bags in this locker in a parking lot. Everything went well, and we could find our bags safely stored once we returned to Reykjavík after the hike.
Here you can find a helpful list and description of all the lockers available in Reykjavík. Just make sure to choose one that allows luggage storage for more than 3 - 4 days!
How much money will I spend?
For our entire trip to Iceland, we both spent 4’000 CHF each… I know, you’re thinking “WTF?!”
First of all, you must consider that Iceland is not the cheapest place to visit, but this budget can be greatly reduced, especially if you plan to travel just for hiking the Laugavegur!
We indeed considered Iceland a once-in-a-lifetime destination and we wanted to make the best out of this adventure. For this reason, we decided to spend more time in the country after hiking the Laugavegur. We rented a car and drove along the Ring Road, alternating accommodations between B&B and campings. We also did another trekking in the Westfjords and took part to a few rather expensive guided tours and activities!
If you are interested in our travel itinerary, we recommend to read the post OUR TRIP.
I think that, with good planning and without additional touristic expenses, the budget for hiking the Laugavegur Trail could be easily reduced to 1’000 CHF.
Long story short, don’t get discouraged and plan your own adventure!
CASH OR CARD?
We always payed everything by credit card, even on the Laugavegur. However, it is always useful to bring some cash (ISK) along, in case of a credit card terminal issue. We therefore decided to withdraw 15’000 ISK (100 CHF) at one of the many ATMs in Reykjavík, before starting our big adventure.